From February 1, 2022, the token generation service is no longer available. All other WIPO PROOF services remain active and offered free of charge, including storage of tokens, their verification and the generation of premium certificates.

As per the service specifications, the tokens are stored in WIPO PROOF for 5 years from the date of their creation. There will be no option to renew or extend this period, so we suggest to download the token and store it with the original file at your earliest convenience.

As the token generation service was terminated on January 31, 2022, pre-paid bundles can no longer be used.

From February 1, 2022, any unused balance of pre-paid bundles is reimbursed.

No, the tokens can be used to demonstrate a file existed at a given point in time and can be verified at any time after the discontinuation of the service. The WIPO PROOF verification system remains available, and it is always possible to verfiy the tokens using independent platforms or using readily available open source utilities, so to ensure their verification in the long term.

Yes. The token storage, the verification and the premium certificate service are maintained and offered free of charge. Note that tokens can always be verified using independent platforms or using readily available open source utilities, and so tokens can be verified in the long term.

For additional security, we advise you to download your tokens and to keep them securely with the original digital files. You may also consider generating and storing premium certificates for your tokens.

A WIPO PROOF token is a time-stamped digital fingerprint that proves the existence of a digital file at a specific date and time.

Technically, it is an encrypted file generated using Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) technology, that contains:

• A hash code of the original file, generated by a local browser’s one-way algorithm, which uniquely identifies the original file.
• The exact date and time the token creation request was issued.
• A digital signature identifying WIPO as the entity responsible of generating the token
• A public key that ensures the authenticity of the token

A token is a file with a “.tsr” extension that cannot be modified, and for this reason, it provides certainty that the date and time the token was created is exact and has not been tampered with. It can be thought of as a digital notary-type service.

The WIPO PROOF token contains a digital fingerprint (hash code) of the original digital file. If the file is altered in any way (even changing 1 character) then the digital fingerprint will be different and there will be no way to prove that the WIPO PROOF token corresponds to the same digital file. If there is ever a dispute or legal process related to your digital file, you need to be able to prove that the WIPO PROOF token, and its timestamp, correspond exactly to the digital file.

Verification of a WIPO PROOF token validates the exact date and time the token was generated for a specific digital file

Owners of the original file or any third party can verify a WIPO PROOF token connecting to the WIPO PROOF service and choosing the “VERIFY TOKEN” . To verify a token, you must provide two items:

1. The unaltered original file for which the token was created
2. The corresponding WIPO PROOF token. This can be downloaded from your dashboard.

It is important to note that, if the original file has been modified even slightly, the verification will fail, and therefore it will not demonstrate the existence of the original file at the date and time it was processed.

Yes. For anyone to independently verify a WIPO PROOF token, some technical skills may be required, together with the following:

1. The original file;
2. The hash of the file in question which they can create with a SHA-256 hashing tool;
3. The WIPO PROOF token;
4. The WIPO TSA public certificate that was used to sign the hash in 1 (retrievable from the actual time stamp). NB, using a tool in 5 will extract this from the token for you;
5. A verification tool such as Openssl (open source) which can be downloaded from:  https://www.openssl.org/ and installed to verify the WIPO PROOF token by running a command line with the following syntax:
   
   openssl ts -verify -data file.txt -in file.tsr -CAfile wipo_cachain.pem -untrusted tsa.crt
   where:
   file.txt is the original file
   file.tsr is the WIPO PROOF token file.
   wipo_cachain.pem contains the two certificates needed for the timestamp issuance (CertSign’s root and intermediate/qualified certificates which are both available for download)
   tsa.crt is our TS server public certificate(available for download)

Your token will no longer be valid if the original digital file is modified in any way – including the slightest formatting changes. A WIPO PROOF token is a digital fingerprint of a specific digital file. If you change the digital work in any way, even something as small as adding a period or a comma, it will of course be different from the original file for which the WIPO PROOF token was created. Therefore, the token will not match the modified file.

No, WIPO PROOF does not read or store your original file. Technically, a strong cryptographic hashing function processes your digital document while still in its original location, producing a hash value uniquely identifying that file. The hash value is then used to create the WIPO PROOF token. From the hash value, it is not possible to read or recreate the original file, ensuring 100% confidentiality.

We recommend that you store your original digital file securely, together with the WIPO PROOF token.

WIPO PROOF tokens can be used in jurisdictions that recognize digital timestamping as admissible digital evidence or legal proof. WIPO PROOF proves that a digital file existed at a specific date and time, and that the file was under the physical possession of the requestor of the WIPO PROOF token. These tokens are likely to be admissible in jurisdictions that recognize national, regional, or international standards such as in eIDAS. The technologies and systems used by WIPO to generate WIPO PROOF tokens meet the highest standards for reliability, accuracy, integrity and confidentiality. WIPO uses certified hardware compliant to FIPS 140 level 3, advanced electronic seals, a key ceremony witnessed by an independent auditor, and a fully automated, defensible, and auditable chain of evidence.

There is no limit to the validity of the token. You can verify your WIPO PROOF token as long as you are able to make the unaltered original digital file available.

As per the service specifications, the tokens are stored in WIPO PROOF for 5 years from the date of their creation. There will be no option to renew or extend this period, so we suggest to download the token and store it with the original file at your earliest convenience.

WIPO PROOF uses robust industry standard technology (IETF RFC 3161), thereby reducing the risk of abuse. No external party, not even WIPO, will be able to modify a WIPO PROOF token once generated.

No, the digital fingerprint of your file (the hash) is created and date- and time-stamped only at the moment you request a WIPO PROOF token for your file. Tokens cannot be back-dated.

WIPO PROOF’s technical infrastructure is designed to meet the industry standards that define a Trusted Time Stamping Authority (TSA):

1. RFC 3161- timestamps generated by WIPO PROOF are compliant with RFC 3161, an IETF standard, that provides specifications for the implementation of the X.509 Public Key Infrastructure Time-Stamp Protocol (TSP);
2. WIPO PROOF conforms to the requirements specified in the eIDAS regulation - ETSI EN 319 401 and ETSI EN 319 421. These standards specify the general policy requirements for Trust Service Providers (TSP), and policy and security requirements for TSPs issuing timestamps. WIPO is currently preparing to be independently audited and confirmed as fulfilling these standards.

Additionally, WIPO PROOF is certified against ISO 27001 standards for information security management.

A digital timestamp is considered as “trusted” if it is issued by a Trusted Third Party (TTP) acting as a Time Stamping Authority (TSA). A TSA issues trusted timestamps, which can be used to prove the existence of digital files at a certain point in time, without the risk of tampering by the owner or any other party. TSAs utilize provable, "trusted time" from one or more reliable time sources, such as the Coordinated Universal Time (UTC).

WIPO PROOF is a trusted Timestamping Authority (TSA) and conforms to the same eIDAS regulation as “qualified” TSAs. The EU administration provides the qualified status to a TSA, on the examination of an audit report provided by independent 3rd parties. The audit report must prove compliance with the eIDAS regulation and ETSI standards, and it is the EU’s decision to award a qualified status upon review of this audit report. The same audit process is also used by WIPO PROOF and WIPO passed its audit by a 3rd party eIDAS conformity assessment body with no non-conformities in October 2020 and September 2021.

Regardless of this fact, WIPO PROOF cannot become a “qualified” TSA, simply because WIPO is considered a foreign entity to the EU. While Article 14 of the eIDAS Regulation states that trust services provided by foreign eIDAS compliant providers (such as WIPO) may be recognized as legally equivalent to qualified trust services, WIPO’s status as an international organization and specialized agency of the United Nations does not allow itself to meet the necessary requirements for it, since WIPO operates on a multi-lateral framework and does not subject itself to such bilateral arrangements.

WIPO PROOF uses hardware-based, redundant time servers that source their time from the globally recognized Global Positioning System (GPS) which uses a network of satellites orbiting the earth. Each satellite carries several atomic clocks and has a very accurate time, which enables the GPS to offer a high-precision time.

You can recover your account by choosing “Forgot your username” or “Forgot your password” on the login page. Once you’ve logged in, download your unexpired tokens to your device.